News of the day from across the nation, June 8

Chronicle News Services

Published 4:25 pm, Thursday, June 8, 2017

1Terrorism charges: Two men from Michigan and New York City were assigned by a terrorist organization to look for potential terrorism targets in New York and Panama, U.S. authorities said Thursday as they announced the suspects’ recent arrests. Samer El Debek, 37, of Dearborn, Mich., and Ali Kourani, 32, of the Bronx were charged in Manhattan federal court with providing support to a terrorist organization. El Debek was arrested June 1 in Livonia, Mich.; Kourani was arrested the same day in the Bronx. In a release, authorities said the men tried to provide support to Hezbollah’s Islamic Jihad organization after receiving military training from the group.

2Deportation order: A Hawaii coffee farmer has 30 days to remain in the United States after being ordered to report to immigration officials for deportation back to Mexico. Andres Magana Ortiz entered Arizona illegally nearly three decades ago when he was 15. His lawyer James Stanton says immigration officials on Thursday told him he has to leave voluntarily at his own expense in 30 days. Magana Ortiz is hoping something can be worked out before then. Ortiz’s case gained attention after a Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge criticized the Trump administration’s order to deport him. However, the court lacked authority to block the order.

3FDA targets opioid: U.S. regulators want a narcotic painkiller involved in the opioid epidemic off the market. The Food and Drug Administration said in Washington on Thursday it has asked Endo Pharmaceuticals to stop selling its reformulated, extended-release painkiller, Opana ER. It’s the first time the FDA has asked for the removal of an opioid painkiller. The FDA says it has seen a “significant shift” from people crushing and snorting Opana ER to get high to injecting it.

4Credit card theft: A man has been sentenced in Newark, N.J., to more than five years in prison for orchestrating a scheme that used hacked credit and debit card information to steal millions of dollars. A federal judge sentenced Angelo Virtucio on Thursday for using “skimming” devices to steal information and encoding the data onto counterfeit cards.

5Chimps aren’t people: Two chimpanzees that were caged at a trailer lot and at a primate sanctuary don’t have the legal rights of people in New York, an appeals court said Thursday. Nonhuman Rights Project attorney Steven Wise had argued to the appeals court in March that adult male chimps Tommy and Kiko should be granted a writ of habeas corpus, which for people relates to whether someone is being unlawfully detained or imprisoned and should be taken to see a judge. But the appeals court, in a ruling that affirmed a lower court’s decision, said there was no legal precedent for chimpanzees being considered people, and their cognitive capabilities didn’t mean they could be held legally accountable for their actions.